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Spuria L, Biasibetti E, Bisanzio D, Biasato I, De Meneghi D, Nebbia P, Robino P, Bianco P, Lamberti M, Caruso C, Di Blasio A, Peletto S, Masoero L, Dondo A, Capucchio MT. Microbial agents in macroscopically healthy mammary gland tissues of small ruminants. PeerJ 2017; 5:e3994. [PMID: 29152416 PMCID: PMC5689019 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.3994] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/21/2017] [Accepted: 10/16/2017] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Health of mammary glands is fundamental for milk and dairy products hygiene and quality, with huge impacts on consumers welfare. Methods This study aims to investigate the microbial agents (bacteria, fungi and lentiviruses) isolated from 89 macroscopically healthy udders of regularly slaughtered small ruminants (41 sheep, 48 goats), also correlating their presence with the histological findings. Multinomial logistic regression was applied to evaluate the association between lesions and positivity for different microbial isolates, animal age and bacteria. Results Twenty-five samples were microbiologically negative; 138 different bacteria were isolated in 64 positive udders. Coagulase-negative staphylococci were the most prevalent bacteria isolated (46.42%), followed by environmental opportunists (34.76%), others (10.14%) and pathogens (8.68%). Most mammary glands showed coinfections (75%). Lentiviruses were detected in 39.3% of samples. Histologically, chronic non-suppurative mastitis was observed in 45/89 glands, followed by chronic mixed mastitis (12/89) and acute suppurative mastitis (4/89). Only 28 udders were normal. Histological lesions were significantly associated with the animal species and lentiviruses and coagulase-negative staphylococci infections. Goats had significantly higher risk to show chronic mixed mastitis compared to sheep. Goats showed a significantly lower risk (OR = 0.26; 95% CI [0.06-0.71]) of being infected by environmental opportunists compared to sheep, but higher risk (OR = 10.87; 95% CI [3.69-37.77]) of being infected with lentiviruses. Discussion The results of the present study suggest that macroscopically healthy glands of small ruminants could act as a reservoir of microbial agents for susceptible animals, representing a potential risk factor for the widespread of acute or chronic infection in the flock.
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Affiliation(s)
- Liliana Spuria
- Department of Veterinary Sciences, University of Turin, Grugliasco, Italy
| | - Elena Biasibetti
- Department of Veterinary Sciences, University of Turin, Grugliasco, Italy
| | - Donal Bisanzio
- Big Data Institute, Nuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, c/o Wellcome Trust Centre for Human Genetics, Oxford, United Kingdom.,Sacro Cuore Don Calabria Hospital, Negrar, Verona, Italy
| | - Ilaria Biasato
- Department of Veterinary Sciences, University of Turin, Grugliasco, Italy
| | - Daniele De Meneghi
- Department of Veterinary Sciences, University of Turin, Grugliasco, Italy
| | - Patrizia Nebbia
- Department of Veterinary Sciences, University of Turin, Grugliasco, Italy
| | - Patrizia Robino
- Department of Veterinary Sciences, University of Turin, Grugliasco, Italy
| | | | | | - Claudio Caruso
- Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale di Piemonte, Liguria e Valle d'Aosta, Torino, Italy
| | - Alessia Di Blasio
- Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale di Piemonte, Liguria e Valle d'Aosta, Torino, Italy
| | - Simone Peletto
- Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale di Piemonte, Liguria e Valle d'Aosta, Torino, Italy
| | - Loretta Masoero
- Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale di Piemonte, Liguria e Valle d'Aosta, Torino, Italy
| | - Alessandro Dondo
- Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale di Piemonte, Liguria e Valle d'Aosta, Torino, Italy
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